bread
tags:
baking
ingredients:
method:
- Choose hydration level (i.e. weight of water as a percentage of flour). As a rough guide: 50% is about the minimum, and results in a stiff dough which is easy to work with; 70% is about the limit of what I can manage to knead by hand; 75%+ is very sloppy and should probably be handled in a bowl only. Higher hydration levels lead to airier bread with a more open crumb. But higher is not necessarily better (e.g. for spreadable bread a denser crumb might be desirable).
- Choose flour quantity. For a low hydration dough cooked in a loaf tin, 400g seems to be a good amount. For higher hydrations or if using the banneton, go for something more like 300g.
- Combine flour and water in a large mixing bowl
- Autolyse: leave to rest for about 30 minutes. This gives time for the flour to hydrate fully and for gluten to start forming. Afterwards the dough should be stretchy
- Add yeast (approx one 7g packet per 300g of flour) and salt (2% by weight of flour), and fold into the dough. Avoid bringing the yeast and salt into direct contact (this may inhibit the yeast, apparently)
- Knead. For lower hydration doughs, this can be done by hand on an unfloured work surface (lightly wet hands to avoid sticking if necessary) for about 10 minutes, until the dough has developed some strength (can stretch for a while without breaking; look up the "windowpane test"). For higher hydration doughs, look up the "slap and fold" kneading technique, or keep the dough in the bowl and fold it over onto itself (look up "bowl fold"), rotate, and repeat
- Bulk fermentation: cover with a tea towel and leave to rise. The dough should double in size; timing depends on temperature but this will probably be in the region of a few hours.
- Optionally, perform a couple of folds in the bowl every 30 minutes of so during bulk fermentation. This is probably less important for the lower hydration doughs where it is possible to develop strength through rigorous kneading on the surface; it is more or less essential for the higher hydration doughs, as this is where the strength will be developed
- Optionally divide the dough if making multiple loaves
- Pre-shaping: form each piece of dough into a tight ball. The aim is to develop tension in the surface of the dough
- Leave for about 20 minutes to give the gluten a chance to relax (otherwise the dough will resist being stretched out during shaping)
- Shaping: fold and roll up the dough ball into a tight loaf-shaped package. Again, the aim is to develop tension in the dough. This helps the loaf rise uniformly when baked; lack of surface tension will result in an uneven crust as steam finds the weak points and explodes outwards in the oven. The rolling is also important for an even crumb, since it ensures the gluten strands are not aligned in any particular direction and therefore do not shoot outwards in the oven (which may result in oversized holes)
- Proofing: place the loaf in a floured banneton (or a tea-towel-lined loaf tin) seam side up, or, if baking in a tin, in the tin seam side down. Leave to rise again until proofed (look up the "poke test"). I like to do this overnight in the fridge.
- To bake, preheat the oven as high as it will go (e.g. 240°C) with a baking tray, metal bowl, and small dish for steam.
- Remove loaf from banneton and place directly on the hot tray (or just put tin in the oven, if using)
- Create a score in the loaf using a razor blade. This directs the steam as it escapes during baking; otherwise it will find a weak point in the crust and result in an uneven shape
- Cover with the bowl, and put in the oven. Add a bit of water in the preheated dish to create steam. The bowl and water create a steamy environment in the oven around the bread, which encourages the steam in the dough to stay inside the loaf itself and thereby achieve a better rise in the oven
- Cook covered for about 15 minutes
- Turn the heat down to 200°C, remove the bowl, and cook for a further 20 minutes-ish, until the internal temperature is at least 90°C and the loaf has the desired colour
- Ideally leave to cool fully before slicing; otherwise steam will escape immediately and result in a drier loaf